HOUSTON, TX — A formal review by the Texas Secretary of State has confirmed that voters were illegally registered using private P.O. Box addresses in Harris County, following an administrative election complaint filed by State Senator Paul Bettencourt (R-Houston).

In a December 23, 2025, letter addressed to Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector and Voter Registrar Annette Ramirez, the Office of the Texas Secretary of State confirmed receipt and validation of Senator Bettencourt’s administrative election complaint and acknowledged that voters were registered and flagged using P.O. Boxes, which cannot be used as a residence for voter registration under current Texas Election Code. Secretary of State Jane Nelson also made clear in her initial Nov. 25, 2025, letter that corrective action of these violations findings is required to ensure voter-roll accuracy and compliance with Texas residency requirements.

“No one lives in a P.O. Box, and Texans cannot legally register to vote from one,” Bettencourt said. “It’s the law, and it’s been the law for four years in statute!”

During the 87th Legislature, Bettencourt authored SB 1111, strengthening voter-registration list maintenance and flagging registrations tied to P.O. mailboxes. Despite the law being in effect for four years, on Nov. 18, 2025, Bettencourt’s office recently identified 60+ active voter registrations at two UPS Store locations in Harris County, with data suggesting over 100 total locations may be affected.

Those findings prompted Sen. Bettencourt to file a formal administrative complaint under SB 1933, a law he also authored to ensure swift state oversight when voter roll maintenance failures are identified among other causes. Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector and Voter Registrar Annette Ramirez responded on December 18th with a 7-page letter questioning standing and implementation of the complaint besides the two listed P.O. Box address sites.

In its response, the Secretary of State’s office confirmed:

• Sen. Bettencourt’s’ complaint was statutory and properly filed
• Harris County voters were registered using private P.O. Box addresses
• Those registrations were flagged under SB 1111’s list-maintenance provisions
• Harris County was issued 127 additional P.O. Box locations identified by the SOS Audit Team for further review and correction, based on the state’s 21–2022 Comprehensive Election Audit.

“Election integrity begins with accurate voter rolls. When registrations list addresses where no one resides, public trust is undermined." Bettencourt added. "Texas law requires counties to maintain accurate voter records, and compliance must apply to all illegal registrations, not just a subset. When that doesn’t happen, the state has both the authority and responsibility to step in." Sen. Bettencourt concluded.

Background: Texas law requires voters to register using a physical residence address. Private mailboxes, UPS Stores, and P.O. Boxes cannot be used as a voter’s residence. SB 1111 and SB 1933 were enacted to strengthen enforcement, accelerate corrections, and ensure accountability when counties fail to maintain accurate voter rolls.

Click Here for Official SOS letter

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